Disjunctive Grammar in Advertising Slogans
Lector univ. drd. Anişoara POP
Universitatea “Dimitrie Cantemir”, Târgu-Mureş
Defined as the most outstanding individual cluster or sentence with symbolic value which
encapsulates the selling proposition of a product, the slogan confirms the existence of standard
advertising language, basically of the disjunctive type: noun groups and minor clauses. Moreover,
slogan grammar illustrates the application of rhetorical principles of memorability and expressivity
at lower levels, defying expectations and thus drawing attention to its form.
The highest level of discursive grammar is the simple sentence, preponderantly represented
by the declarative mood, which is pre-eminently information-providing, and, therefore, adequate in
conveying the main reason for buying of advertising slogans. Imperative forms employed as direct
mands are rarely used and count as strong invitations or suggestions.
The hypotheses to be empirically demonstrated within the current study are:
1.
The advertising slogan has developed into a subtly persuading device which
resorts to disjunctive grammar and block language (basically noun groups and
minor clauses) for the realisation of its basic aim: MEMORABILITY.
2.
Slogan messages are presented in readable, easy-to-understand and therefore
likely-to-be-memorized pieces, the highest most frequently used rank, being the
simple declarative sentence. Moreover, imperative forms are rarely used and
count essentially as invitations or suggestions rather than directives.
Materials: Two corpuses comprising 40 advertisements each, were chosen from random
issues of The Time, Business Central Europe, The Economist, BBC Worldwide - the English
corpus (Ec) with a predominantly male readership and the product variable respresented by
investment, travel, electronics - and Unica, Cosmopolitan, Avantaje, Madame Figaro forming the
Romanian corpus, (Rc) with a specific female readership and the product variable represented by
cosmetics, jewellery, etc.
Method: The contrastive linguistic approach within the systemic functional application will
reveal the frequence, complexity and functions of grammatical structures employed in the two
corpora as well as their specific functions.
Analysis
Description of Constituents. The following structures, according to increasing degree of
complexity were observed:
a) The Group – defined as expansion of a word1, e.g. NG “New classics (Chic and Cher);
1
Richards, J.C. (1996) Functional English Grammar, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, p.5
b) Minor and nonfinite clauses. – have different denominations in traditional grammar:
sentence fragments or verbless clauses. Nonfinite clauses are defined within the mood
system as lacking subject and a finite, whereas verbless clauses have a zero verb exponent
(no predicator), and are usually arrived at through the omission of the linking verb “to be”,
e.g.: “Carlsberg/ (is) Probably the best beer in the world”. Allowing a clause without a
predicator is a distinctive feature of advertising grammar.
Although lacking any predicator at all, minor clauses can be analyzed in terms of
subject, object, adverbial, complement, etc. and represent punctuation units having
independent status (generally occur between stops). Most common minor structures include
a nominal element in a neutral Z position since it cannot be identified as either complement
or object (it is structurally differentiated through its relation to a predicate).
e.g.: “In sfârşitA, un parfum pentru toaletăZ” (Ambi Pur) (AZ)
c) Finite clauses are always independent and can be interpreted for mood, transitivity of
processes, truth/falsity, e.g: „Time covers the world” (SVO)
It is advertising licence that dependent finite clauses can be introduced by a subordinating
conjunction, represent punctuation units and thus acquire the status of independent clauses
although they enter into sense relations with the preceding punctuation units:
„A Patek Philippe – Because it’s for a lifetime”
„L’Oreal Paris. Pentru că merit”
„Nivea Sun. Pentru ca soarele să fie prietenul nostru”
d) Complex sentences – introduce the idea of complexity in the sense of diversity, inequality,
subordination of the component units and are made of one or more main clauses plus one or
more subordinate clauses. One slogan in the Ec comprised a compound sentence whereas
two subordinate sentences were found in independent position in the Rc.
“When you make a great beer//1 you don’t have to make a great fuss” (Heineken) employs
hypotaxis, which is a little more vague than linking as the first subordinate clause can be
interpreted either as time or condition adverbial.
The Noun Group (NG)
In the corpuses under scrutiny and in advertising in general, NGs function as minor or onemember clauses isolated visually within the advertising text. In the present study the NG structures
were not considered minor clauses, although they originate in deleted attributive clauses. As
number of words per structure, many NGs deployed by far more extended and more complex
constitutive elements than the non-finite, verbless clauses, or even simple sentences, e.g.: „A
delicate and very dry fino sherry for connaisseurs”(Tio Pepe) versus. „Time covers the world” or
„Chosen by the gods” (Greece).
According to frequency, the following structural types of NGs were identified:
 Two NGs in apposition, where NG1 is represented by the brand name and NG2 represents its
most significant quality or the “reason for buying”:
1. “Diamond. O frumuseţe de preţ” – resorts to structural pun (which is difficult to
exploit and therefore rare) being ambiguous between two readings : [(O
frumuseţe)head de preţ qualifying postmodification], „de preţ” meaning „valuable”, and (o
frumuseţe de)superl absolute (preţ)head, with the meaning of an excellent buy at very low
price.
2. „Un serviciu de cuvânt” (Cosmorom) – again with homonymous readings as the
indefinite head noun „un serviciu” with a prepositional phrase „de cuvânt” can
represent either a descriptive qualification (i.e. a service using the word) or an
idiomatic meaning: ”keeping one’s promise”. The use of the indefinite article in
examples (1) and (2) presumably leaves the reader enough freedom to choose from
many brands, but a connaisseur would make this choice.
3. „Havana. The new fragrance for women.” The use of „the” singularizes the
product, exuding uniqueness onto it.
In all these examples the NG can be interpreted either as an appositive of two NGs (NG 1Brand
name + NG2) or as sentence fragments with different verbs understood, such as:
- Declarative: “Havana. (IS) The new fragrance for women”/ Organics. Primul
şampon cu glucasil” (IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR SALE).
- Less likely: Imperative: (PLEASE BUY) New classics (From Chic and Cher)
 NGs in one or two foreign languages displaying a plus of elegance, sophistication and
exquisiteness, with the brand name following the “reason for buying” NG:
1. La pasione ci guida./ FIAT
2. The fragrance for a new woman. / Jaipur Saphir
3. New classics./ Chic and Cher
 NG with embedded rankshifted relative or nonfinite clauses:
1. Culoarea /care te prinde./Wella
2. Organics. Primul şampon cu glucasil /care hrăneşte rădăcina părului
3. “Puterea de/ a reduce timpul şi spaţiul” (Whirlpool)
In (1) and (2) above the embedded clause is relative, the latter rendering one of the multiply
modified NGs. In (3) above the description includes the embedded to-infinitive nonfinite clause as
complement of a preposition, with coordinated objects: Nhead(to-inf)VT(O) and (O)
 NG with adjective in the comparative or superlative degree as postmodification:
1. “Gust mai bun” (Pall Mall) – “A better taste”
2. “Cea mai eficientă protecţie împotriva transpiraţiei” (Lady Speed Stick)
In (1) above we have an example of a “hingeless comparative” (Quirk, 1972:766), a staple cliché
of advertising language.
 NG plus adjunct representing a borderline situation between NG and fragment (minor clause
representation of the ZA type (see minor clauses below):
1. “Quality in an age of change” (The Famous Grouse)
2. “O piele fină nu numai pentru această vară. Pentru totdeauna!” (Gillette
Sensor for Women)
Both the above examples have the adjunct as the focus, newsworthy information, representing the
“unique selling proposition”
 Other less frequent examples include: NG with the brand name in pre- or postmodification: “
Noua atitudine Lights”, “The Rolex of Geneva”; NG with the periphrastic genitive for the
accomplishment of a sense of balance proper to block language: “The Heart of Asia” (Cathey
Pacific)
The NG representation was predominant in the Rc in proportion of 45% (18) and 30% (12)
in the Ec.

Nonfinite And Verbless Clauses comprise several other elements functioning as adjuncts,
object, complement, etc. and the existence of a verb is easily traceable.
Sentence fragments (verbless) are punctuated as if they were whole sentences and their
relevance is accomplished through the accompanying pictures.
The most frequently employed linking verb in verbless clauses is the verb“to be”:
1. “Drei Wetter Taft. (IS) Always perfect”
2. (It is/She is) “Beautiful “(Estee Lauder)
3. Coccolino/(ESTE) “Mai proaspăt, mai pufos, mai parfumat.”
4. Carlsberg. (IS) “Probably the best beer in the world.”
As seen in (2) above, the only realisation of a verbless clause can be an adjective with the force of
an exclamation or coordinated adjective groups in parataxis in (3). The mood adjunct in (4) is an
expression of epistemic objective and implicit modality, and tempers on the proposition of the beer
as being “the best” in the world.
 Other singular examples of retrievable verbs can be:
(IATA) “In sfârşit, un parfum pentru toaletă” (AmbiPur Flush)
The interpersonal adjunct of time in marked theme position expresses a relief attitude and
confirms the exclamatory status of the clause.
 Nonfinite past participle clauses as well as present participial clauses were well represented:
1. (Honda) (IS) “Shaped by the forces of nature not by the forces of habit”.
2. (Greece) (IS) “Chosen by the Gods”.
3. (IS)“Bringing you together” (Telecom Finland)
4. Nokia/ (IS)“Connecting people”
5. “The all-new FordFiesta. Designed for living. (Has been) engineered to
last.”
Their attractiveness is functionally explained: in the nonfinite past participle examples (1)
and (2), the expressed agents are focus of information, whereas the present participles in (3) and (4)
promise an eternal instantaneous present to these service users.
Simple Sentences
The ratio declarative/ imperative/ exclamatory/ interrogative in both corpuses was 11/4/2/1.
The majority of sentences select the declarative mood which is the type of exchange
offering information.
Declaratives: Noul mascara Curly/ “Vorbeşte despre tine”
„We do more for you” (BASF)
„Omo intelligent. Ştie ce face”
(New Cif) „Cleans more efficiently without scratching”
„A little support can work wonders” (Project Hope)
„Noul Omo Liposistem. Îndepărtează cele mai dificile pete”
In all the above examples the finites are realized by action processes, underlining their
effects on the beneficiary („for you”) with a tempering effect of the modal finite „can” in the third
example where a charitable action is promoted and the modal expressing subjective, implicit
possibility is entertained as a politeness strategy.
Imperatives. Imperatives count as varying degrees of invitation, suggestion or strong advice:
1. Sabena/ „Enjoy our company!”
2. „Fii tu însăţi. Poartă Steilman”
Example one has the force of an invitation with the topical theme represented by a mental action
process and the homonymous play on the word „company”,
ambiguous
between
the
idiomatic „in somebody’s company” and „firm, society”.
Exclamatory: 1. „That’s the spirit!” (Alcatel)
2. Margaret Astor/ „Eşti atât de frumoasă!”
Interrogatives. The single interrogative example in the corpus had the force of an indirect
statement: „Tu să refuzi un cadou?” (Winston)
Simple sentences had an obvious predominance in the Ec which could be explained also
through the male readership of the magazines and the specificity of the products: communication
systems, computers, air travel, requiring a more „reason-oriented” rather than „tickle” approach –
the latter type prevailing in the Rc which comprised basically cosmetics and addressed a female
readership. Full sentences convey a better and more complete reason for buying, the unique selling
proposition can be modulated (see „can work wonders” above), judged for truth of falsity, and
imply concrete action processes Conversely, the reason for buying is mainly descriptive in the R c as
45% of the slogans employed NG structures.
Conclusions
1.
Slogan structures are generally very simple with the group as the most
frequently employed unit of communication. 45% of the slogans in the Rc
and 30% in the Ec use NG with different degrees of pre-, post-, and
multiple modification, usually an appositive of the brand name (NG1),
arresting attention, and an attributive clause (NG2) giving in descriptive
terms the reason for buying that brand. It is a language which defies
expectations and draws attention to its form2, leaving the reader/consumer
to fill in, to actively participate. This poetic trait makes advertising slogans
stick
2.
Non-finite and verbless clauses are generally very simple, with little
structure above the group level, and fall within the same advertising
functionality of eluding the truth or falsity of claims.
3.
The most predominant highest rank of grammatical organization is the
sentence. Sentences belong to the major finite system and their claims can
be judged on a true/false basis. The mood system responsible for
interpersonal meaning is mostly represented by declarative informationproviding sentences, suggesting a reason rather than tickle appeal,
especially in the Ec with a predominantly male readership. Full sentences
convey a better and more complete reason for buying, the unique selling
proposition can be modulated (see „can work wonders” above), and imply
concrete action processes Conversely, the reason for buying is mainly
descriptive in the Rc as 45% of the slogans employed NG structures.
4.
It is advertising licence that dependent finite clauses can be introduced by
a subordinating conjunction, represent punctuation units and thus acquire
the status of independent clauses although they enter into sense relations
with the preceding punctuation units
5.
Compound and complex sentences introducing the idea of diversity,
inequality, subordination are poorly represented (8% in the Rc).
Slogan messages are presented in readable, easy-to-understand and therefore likely-to-bememorized pieces. Most often an incitement to action in the past, the advertising slogan has
developed into a subtler persuading device which resorts to disjunctive grammar and block
language for the realisation of its aim.
The unique selling proposition which represents the essence of the advertising messages is
condensed in the slogan and includes the staple ingredients of any standard advertising language, of
which the highly loaded NGs, disjunctive non-finite, verbless/minor clauses and simple sentences,
were described.
References:
1. Leech, G.N. (1966) English in Advertising. A Linguistic Study of Advertising in Great
Britain, London: Longmans.
2. Myers, G. (1994) Words in Ads, New York: Routledge.
3. Richards, J.C. (1996) Functional English Grammar, Cambridge Univesity Press:
Cambridge.
2
Myers, G. (1994), Words in ads, New York: Routledge, p.31